'Buckyballs' Penetrate Deeper, Faster When Skin is Flexed

Raleigh, NC - 1/12/07 - Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that repetitive flexing movements increase the speed and depth at which tiny particles are absorbed through the skin, a finding that could have major implications in medical, consumer and industrial fields.

Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, professor of investigative dermatology and toxicology at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, and graduate student Jillian Rouse, working with Dr. Andrew R. Barron, professor of chemistry and materials science at Rice University, made the discovery by exposing the tiny particles – the soccer-ball shaped materials known as fullerenes or “buckyballs,” which are much smaller than the head of a pin – to pig skin.

The research findings will be published in the Jan. 10 edition of Nano Letters, a journal published by the American Chemical Society. The study was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.

“Our results confirm that repetitive motion can speed the passage of nanoparticles through the skin,” Monteiro-Riviere says. “As more nanoparticles find their way into the workplace and consumer goods, and as scientists look for innovative ways to use nanoparticles to deliver drugs into the body, it is critical that the nanoscience community identify these types of external exposure factors.”

In drug-delivery applications, the ability of nanoparticles to access the body's circulatory system has important implications. Although there are many potential benefits to the use of nanomaterials in the treatment of diseases, little is currently known about the potential risks involved with the uptake of nanoparticles through the skin and into the body.

“Many physicians believe the potential for using nanomaterials in drugs to target diseases is the greatest thing,” Monteiro-Riviere says. “Yet the implication is that no one knows what happens when nanoparticles are filtered through the body. There is still a lot of research that must be done.”